By ROBIN SHANNON

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE – The St. John Sheriff’s Office arrested a Garyville man Monday in connection with a pair of armed robberies of unsuspecting motorists.

Maj. Mike Tregre, a spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office said Devin Bolden, 17, was taken into custody after an anonymous tip led the SJSO Felony Intercept Unit to a home in the 300 block of Historic East Street where Bolden was hiding in a closet. Tregre said Bolden surrendered to police without incident, but denied involvement in the robberies, both of which took place within a mile of Bolden’s home, located at 203 Sherman Walker St. in Garyville.

The first incident took place November 1 when a 48-year old Garyville man was robbed of $14 while he sat in his truck in the 200 block of South Fig Street.

According to police reports, two men, one being Bolden, approached the truck and asked the victim for a cigarette. The report said one of the suspects produced a gun and demanded money from the victim.

Two weeks later, on November 13, a 30-year old St. James man was robbed at gunpoint while he was stopped at a stop sign at the intersection of Daisy and Historic Main Streets.

The victim said a young man with dreadlocks and gold teeth, wearing a red long sleeved shirt, red baseball cap, opened the front passenger door of the vehicle and pointed a black semi-automatic handgun to the victim’s head. The police report on the incident said another man entered the rear of the vehicle, and instructed the man to drive to a bar on Sherman Walker Street. The male in the front seat took the victim’s wallet and a cellular phone belonging to the

victim’s girlfriend before exiting the vehicle. The victim’s girlfriend was not present at the time of the robbery.

It was not known at press time which subject in the vehicle was Bolden.

Tregre said an arrest warrant was issued for Bolden on November 19 after Bolden was positively identified in a photographic lineup by the victims in both robbery cases.

Tregre said Bolden was booked into the Sherman Walker Correctional Facility in LaPlace on two counts of armed robbery. Bolden remains in custody on $300,000 bond.

Tregre said police are still searching for Bolden’s accomplice in the robberies, and anyone with information is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 985-652-9545.